I recently replaced my older thermostat with a new Honeywell one. The wiring seemed straightforward, and the furnace is working as expected, but I wanted to get a more experienced set of eyes to look at how I wired it.

In the new thermostat, the red wire goes into the R terminal. You can't really see from the photo, but there is a small jumper wire connecting R to RC. Is this how it should be?

And one other question about the wiring of the new thermostat - should I cut them a bit shorter so they aren't bending all over the place?

Thanks for your time! :)

ben's plumbing

11-25-2011 11:19 PM

yes it looks ok and yes you can shorten up the wires a bit....repair that red wire insulation stripped back to far could short.... try pulling wire out of wall to start with to make it longer,,,,,gentley though then recut shorter and cleaner

harleyrider

11-26-2011 12:27 AM

You need to get rid of the bare wires......red and white.....then stuff something (like insulation) in the hole so the stat doesn't see or "feel" a draft out of that wall.

biggles

11-26-2011 06:15 AM

nice 1/4 strip off of the insulation per wire will tighten that up :wink: we have certain standard here...:)

raylo32

11-26-2011 06:33 AM

If there isn't enough red wire to pull out so you can cut the bare wire off, get some shrink tube and slide it over the wire overlapping the good insulation on both sides and the bare area. Gently heat to shrink it down. This will give you a cleaner repair than just taping it up.

Doc Holliday

11-26-2011 09:00 AM

ACK! My eyes, MY EYES!!

DoOd, you do not want any bare metal showing anywhere outside of the very tip that is stripped back to be screwed in the terminals.

Mark all the wires or use your pictures as a template, unscrew all terminals thus removing all wires and with some pliers pull that wire out through the wall. 9 out of 10 times there is at least a few inches if not a few feet worth of wire stuck in the walls or some slack somewhere along the way.

I'd cut off all of that old stuff, strip back the entire jacket which would reveal new small wire and use that.

yuri

11-26-2011 09:07 AM

I HATE lath and plaster walls!!!!!. :furious::censored:

Usually there is no give in the tstat wire in those old houses and you may short it out where it comes thru the wall. Then you have a HUGE problem as stringing a wire in those walls is very difficult. I would CAREFULLY straighten those wires and slip some heat shrink tubing from Radio Shack on them and heat with a cigarette lighter or one of those micro torches that use butane. Then reconnect them and put fibreglass insulation in the hole to prevent drafts and short cycling.

raylo32

11-26-2011 10:19 AM

Those butane micro torches with the proper tip are the best way to apply shrink tube. One of my favoritest tools....

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuri
(Post 779142)

heat with a cigarette lighter or one of those micro torches that use butane.

kennzz05

11-26-2011 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raylo32
(Post 779188)

Those butane micro torches with the proper tip are the best way to apply shrink tube. One of my favoritest tools....